Will Bruce Willis ever make it back to the fold of respected Hollywood action stars? Judging from his antics in his latest outing, "Extraction," the short answer to that is a huge "No." The long answer involves a private eulogy to an illustrious action career, and a tearful ode to all that was wonderful in Willis' signature "Die Hard" franchise. But it's still no.
"Extraction" follows a formula that has been adopted by a number of recent releases — enough to make you think this could form a trend. It's always the same: Aging veteran star is paired with a smooth, handsome, muscle-bound rookie, in the hopes that both incredible father-son chemistry and stunning action collaboration will ensue. It happened with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jai Courtney in "Terminator Gensys"; it happened in "Creed" with Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan. Now, it's Bruce Willis and Kellan Lutz's turn in "Extraction."
Actually, "Extraction" is the second time Willis has shared screen time with a son-figure at his side. "A Good Day to Die Hard" in 2013 teamed him with Courtney as his CIA agent son — and that spawned a dismal disaster of a movie. Director Steven C. Miller ("Silent Night"), however, was apparently unfazed by that wreckage and its bad press, because "Extraction" is practically a duplicate, albeit with tweaks in the plot and the presence of Gina Carano as the son's love interest.
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